Deceleration-responsive passenger-restraining device for motor vehicles

ABSTRACT

A horizontal passenger-restraining padded buffer (FIGS. 1 and 2) extends transversely across the front portion of the automobile passenger compartment adjacent to and overlying the cowl. This buffer is mounted on the outer ends of the piston rods of a pair of rearwardly-facing pneumatic cylinders tiltably mounted in spaced parallel relationship on the fire wall of the vehicle. The rearward chambers of the cylinders contain air and the normal retracting positions of the pistons are adjacent the forward ends of the cylinders. Secured to the forward end of each cylinder and communicating with the forward chamber thereof is an explosive gas generator which contains a cartridge chamber for a pistol blank cartridge adapted to be fired by a reciprocable firing pin actuated by an electrical solenoid to the armature of which it is attached. The solenoid is connected with a deceleration-responsive inertia switch which upon sudden deceleration of the vehicle closes the circuit to the solenoid winding, the energization of which propels the armature-connected firing pin sharply outward into contact with the detonator of the center-fire cartridge, firing it. The explosive gases generated by the firing of the cartridge enter the forward chamber of each cylinder. As a consequence, the piston heads of the two cylinders and their piston rods, together with the theretoconnected buffer, are propelled instantly at high speed rearwardly, against the passenger or passengers in the front seat of the automobile, at the same time compressing the air in the rearward chambers of the cylinders and forcing it through escape ports. The buffer thus counteracts the inertia of their bodies and holds them firmly against the back of the front seat, preventing them from plunging forward and preventing injury.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Hitherto, many deaths and serious injuries have been caused by suddendeceleration of motor vehicles resulting either from sudden and violentbrake action to avoid an impending collision or from an actual collisionitself. Prior efforts have been made to cushion the front seatpassengers (which term includes the driver) against the effects of beingthrown forward against the door posts, windwhield header, windshield orsteering wheel. One such effort has involved the so-called air bagdevice intended to suddenly inflate an air bag on or under the cowl butsuch air bag devices are of doubtful dependability in a collision, andprovide no protection to the front seat passengers in the event of asidewise roll-over of the vehicle. Moreover, such air bags do not holdthe passengers either down against the seat bottom or against the seatback, and take the control of the vehicle out of the hands of thedriver.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention set forth above in the abstract of the disclosureholds each passenger not only downward against the seat bottom but alsorearward against the seat back and automatically locks in its rearwardposition so that the passengers are protected not only against injuryfrom a sidewise roll-over but also from being thrown around inside thepassenger compartment. Furthermore the present invention enables thedriver to keep control of the vehicle in his own hands and enables himto keep his hands on the steering wheel, which is unaffected by thebuffer because the buffer has a cutout portion enabling it to pass bythe steering wheel.

In the drawings,

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal vertical section through the front passengercompartment of an automobile taken along the line 1--1 in FIG. 2immediately inside the left front window, showing one form ofdeceleration-responsive passenger restraining device according to theinvention, with the working parts shown in their projected positions insolid lines and in their retracted positions in dotted lines;

FIG. 2 is a horizontal section taken along the line 2--2 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged central vertical section through one of theactuating cylinders and its connected parts as employed in thepassenger-restraining arrangement of FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 1 but showing a modified second form ofthe invention, with the retracted positions of the working parts showndiagrammatically in dotted lines;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged central vertical section, partly in sideelevation, of a further modified third form of the invention, with theretracted positions of the working parts shown in solid lines and withthe projected positions thereof shown in dotted lines;

FIG. 6 is a side elevation, partly in central vertical section, throughone of the actuating cylinders of the third form of the invention shownin FIG. 5, with the explosive gas generators omitted for simplificationof the disclosure;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged longitudinal section through a modified explosivegas generator having a multiple-cartridge magazine therein;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a cartridge-applied andcartridge-released brake adapted to be installed upon the piston rod ofthe reciprocatory operating motor of the deceleration-responsivepassenger restraining device of the invention, with the operatingcylinder omitted to simplify the view; and

FIG. 9 is an amplified flow diagram showing the operative relationshipsand sequence of the third form of the invention shown in FIG. 5, withthe further addition of the brake of FIG. 8 and certain photocellsadapted to increase the speed of operation of the FIG. 5 device.

SIMPLIFIED DECELERATION-RESPONSIVE PASSENGER-RESTRAINING DEVICE.

Referring to the drawings in detail, FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 show a simplifieddeceleration-responsive passenger-restraining device, generallydesignated 10, for a motor vehicle 12, the parts of which are showndiagrammatically in order to simplify the disclosure. The motor vehicle12 has a floor 14 supporting a front seat 16 provided with a seat bottom18 and a seat back 20 in a passenger compartment 22. The motor vehicle12 has a roof 24 and windshield 26 with a windshield header 28 at theupper end and a cowl 30 with an instrument panel 32 and a hood 33 andfire wall or bulkhead 34 separating the engine compartment 36 from thepassenger compartment 22 and extending downward to a footboard 38inclined relatively to the floor 14. The operating pedal or pedals (notshown) are disposed near the footboard 38 and the usual steering wheel40 is mounted on the usual steering post 42 extending downward beneaththe cowl 30 and through the fire wall or bulkhead 34 into the enginecompartment 36 where it is connected to the conventional steeringmechanism and linkage. The front seat 16 is provided with the usual headrest 42 for the passenger P who in this instance is shown as the driverof the motor vehicle 12.

Bolted or otherwise secured to the firewall or bulkhead 34 (FIG. 2) aretwo U-shaped pivot brackets 44 which pivotally support the trunnions 46projecting laterally from the opposite sides of the cylinders 48 ofreciprocatory fluid pressure motors, generally designated 50, havingpiston rods 52 with piston heads 54 (FIG. 3). The forward ends of thecylinders 48 extend through openings 56 in the bulkhead 34 which aremade dust-tight by sliding cover plates (not shown) attached to thecylinders 48 and slide upward and downward as the cylinders 48 pivot ontheir trunnions 46. The term "reciprocatory motor" 50 is used hereininstead of the frequently-employed term "cylinder" representing both thecylinder 48 and the piston rod 52 and piston head 54 which, collectivelyconstitute plungers 58, in order to avoid the confusion arising by theuse of the same term "cylinder" for both the hollow cylindrical body 48and an assembly including that part with the piston rod 52 and pistonhead 54 therein. The cylinder 48 (FIG. 3) has forward and rearwardcylinder heads 60 and 62 respectively threaded onto the correspondinglythreaded ends of the cylinder barrel 64. The piston head 54 isreciprocable within the cylinder bore 66 and the piston rod 52 at itsouter end is threaded as at 68 into a cup-shaped fitting 70 which inturn is secured as by suitable fasteners or adhesives (not shown) tocorrespondingly-shaped bosses 72 projecting forwardly of the vehiclefrom the base plate 74 of a composite passenger-restraining buffer,generally designated 76, faced with a foam rubber or foam plastic pad78. The buffer 76 extends entirely across the front passengercompartment and is of roughly C-shaped or channel-shaped cross-section(FIG. 1) having a forwardly-inclined upper portion 80, a verticalmidportion 82 and an arcuate lower portion 84. The buffer 76 terminatesat its upper edge slightly below the line of sight L of the paassenger Pand has an opening 77 therein providing clearance for the steering wheel40 (FIG. 2) (shown inward of its usual position to avoid concealing theparts below it.) A similar opening (not shown) in the buffer 76 affordsvisibility of the instruments on the instrument panel 32.

The forward cylinder head 60 (FIG. 3) is provided with a centralcylindrical boss 86 containing a central bore 88 opening into theforward end of the cylinder 48 to the left of the piston head 54 in thespace constituting the forward cylinder chamber 90, whereas the oppositeside of the piston head 54 faces the rearward cylinder chamber 92containing air. The cylinder barrel 64 near its junction with thecylinder head 62 is provided with an air discharge port 94. Threaded orotherwise secured as at 96 to the boss 86 is the cylindrical casing 98of an explosive gas generator, generally designated 100, within which ismounted the winding 102 of a solenoid 104 having opposite end discs 106and 108 secured to the casing 98 and also to a tubular core 110 ofnon-magnetic material. Reciprocable within the tubular core 110 is thespring-retracted armature 112 composed of magnetic material such as softiron and having a pointed tip 114. The armature 112 constitutes a firingpin, the pointed tip 114 of which, when the solenoid 104 is energized,is impelled into engagement with the center of a center-firing pistolcartridge 116, such as a 38-caliber pistol cartridge seated in thecentral bore 88 of the cylinder head boss 86.

The terminals 118 and 120 of the solenoid 104 (FIG. 3) are connected bylines 112 and 124 to an inertia-operated micro-switch 126, with abattery 128 connected in the line 124 between the solenoid terminal 120and the switch blade contact 130 of the switch 126. The blade 132 in itsclosed position engages the switch terminal or contact 134 to which theline 122 runs from the solenoid terminal 118.

In the operation of the deceleration-responsive passenger-restrainingdevice 10 of FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, let it be assumed that the buffer 76 isin its retracted position against and overlying the cowl 30 andinstrument panel 32, as shown in dotted lines in FIG. 1, and that acartridge 116 is in its operating position of FIG. 3 in the bore 88. Letit also be assumed that a sudden emergency causing drastic brakingdecelerates the motor vehicle violently or an actual collision does so,resulting in closing of the inertia-operated micro-switch 126 (FIG. 3)so that its blade 132 interconnects the contacts 130 and 134, whereuponthe electric current from the battery 128 energizes the winding 102 ofthe solenoid 104. As a result, the armature 112 springs rearwardlyagainst the center fire cartridge 116, detonating it and consequentlyfiring its explosive charge. The explosive gases emerging from thecartridge 116 through the bore 88 into the forward chamber 90 of eachcylinder 48 act against each piston head 54 to impel the plungers 58rearwardly with an almost instantaneous reaction, propelling the buffer76 rearwardly into its solid line position shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Thisaction causes the buffer 76 to force the passengers P rearwardly anddownwardly and to hold them against the back 20 and bottom 18 of thefront seat 16. The driver, however, still retains control of hissteering wheel 40 through the opening 77 in the buffer 76.

Meanwhile, the air compressed in the rearward chamber 92 of thecylinders 48 escapes through the port 94 near the rearward end thereof.At the same time, the cylinders 48 pivot on their trunnions 46 and tiltupward as the arcuate lower portion 84 moves upward along the legs ofthe passenger P.

Modified Passenger-Restraining Device with Articulated Buffer.

The modified deceleration-responsive passenger-restraining device,generally designated 150, shown in FIG. 4 is generally similar to thefirst form 10 thereof shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, insofar as thereciprocatory fluid pressure motors 50 and their plungers 58 areconcerned. Accordingly these parts are designated with the samereference numerals as in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3. The articulated buffer 152,however, differs from the unitary buffer 76 of the arrangement 10 byhaving a lower portion 154 of arcuate cross-section having ears 156pivotally connected by pivot pins 158 to the forward end of the plunger58. The upper portion 160 is pivoted at 162 to the arcuate lower portion154 and is separable therefrom along a parting line 164. The spacebetween the upper and lower buffer portions 160 and 154 is filled by aflexible covering portion 166 which in the raised position of the upperpart 160 puckers like an accordion. Slidably mounted on the piston rod52 of the plunger 58 is a crosshead 168 having tension springs 170 and172 connected to opposite sides thereof. The spring 170 is connected tothe ears 156 at one end and at 174 to the crosshead 168 at the otherend. The spring 172 at one end is also connected at 174 to the crosshead168 and at its opposite end is connected at 176 to a crosshead 178fixedly mounted on the piston rod 52. Pivoted at 180 to the slidablecrosshead 168 is the lower end of a link 182, the upper end of which ispivoted at 184 to the upper end of the upper part 160 of the buffer 152.Pivoted at 186 to the approximate midportion of the link 182 is theupper end of an operating link 188, the lower end of which is pivoted at190 to the crosshead 178.

In the operation of the modified deceleration-responsivepassenger-restraining device 150, let it again be assumed that thebuffer 152 is in its retracted position shown in dotted lines at theleft-hand side of FIG. 4, and that as in the passenger-restrainingdevice 10 of FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, an explosive cartridge is in eachexplosive gas generator (not shown) as in the generators 100 in FIGS. 1,2 and 3. Let it also be assumed that a sudden emergency requires orcauses violent deceleration of the motor vehicle 12, resulting in theclosing of the inertia-operated microswitch 126 (FIG. 3) which in turnenergizes the solenoid winding 102 and causes the armature 112 thereofto detonate the cartridge 116 as before. As a consequence, the explosivegases from the cartridge 116 again move the plungers 58 rearward of thevehicle 12, carrying with them each crosshead 178. The rearward travelof the crossheads 178 moves the links 188 rearward, thereby raising theupper buffer part 160. At the same time, each plunger 58 through itsconnection 158 at its forward end with the ears 156, also moves thelower part 154 of the buffer 152 rearwardly against the body of thepassenger P, pushing him backward against the seat back 20 and downwardagainst the seat bottom 18. The remainder of the action is similar tothat described above for the passenger-restraining device 10.

FURTHER MODIFIED DECELERATION-RESPONSIVE PASSENGER-RESTRAINING DEVICEWITH ARTICULATED MAIN BUFFER AND AUXILIARY BUFFER.

The further modified deceleration-responsive passenger-restrainingdevice, generally designated 200, shown in FIGS. 5, 6 and 7, like thepassenger-restraining device 10 of FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, has a pair ofreciprocating fluid pressure motors 202 pivotally mounted on twin-armedbrackets 206 which in turn are bolted to the fire wall or bulkhead 34.The cylinders 204 of the fluid-pressure motors project rearwardly of thevehicle through openings 205 in the firewall 34 (FIG. 6) and are closedagainst the entrance of dust by flexible elastomeric collars 208 havingtubular flanges 210 secured by fasteners 212 to the barrels 214 of thecylinders 216 of the motors 202. The flexible collars 208 are in turnbonded or bolted as at 218 to the firewall or bulkhead 34. The forwardend of each cylinder barrel 214 is threaded and closed by a cylinderhead 220 threaded or otherwise secured thereon (FIG. 6).

Bolted or otherwise secured to each forward cylinder head 220 is asupporting block 222 carrying the trunnions 224 by which the cylinders204 are pivotally mounted on the brackets 206. Each supporting block 222is provided with an inclined upper face 226 (FIG. 5) from which athreaded counterbore 228 extends obliquely downward, continuingobliquely downward in a bore 230 forming a passageway which communicateswith a central bore or passageway 232 (FIG. 6) in the forward cylinderhead 220 of the cylinder 216. Threaded into each counterbore 228 is thestem 234 of a main explosive gas generator 236 similar to the explosivegas generator 100 of FIG. 3 and similarly containing an explosivecartridge like the cartridge 116, a solenoid winding like the winding102 and an armature 112 with firing pin tip 114. The explosive gasgenerator 236 is closed at its outer end by a cap 238 held in place by aleaf spring 240 secured to the side of the generator 236.

Reciprocably mounted in the bore 242 of each cylinder barrel 214 (FIG.6) is a compound piston head 244 equipped with oppositely-facingcup-shaped packings 246 and 248 (FIG. 6) held between oppositely-facingcup-shaped heads 250 and 252. Each compound piston head 244 is connectedto a piston rod 254 which passes outward through a bore 256 in arearward piston head 258 threaded or otherwise secured to the rearwardend of the cylinder barrel 214. Each cylinder head 258 on its inner sideis counter-bored at 260 to receive a packing or shaft seal 262 held inplace by a washer 264 disposed between the cylinder head 258 and therearward end of the cylinder barrel 214. Secured as by fasteners 266 toeach rearward cylinder head 258 is a cup-shaped end cap 268 having anend hole 270 for the passage of the piston rod 254. Also secured to eachcylinder head 258 between it and the end cap 268 by the same fastener orfasteners 266 is an arcuate flanged stop 272 against which abut aplurality of tilted piston-rod-locking washers 274 for preventingrebound of the piston rod 254. Diametrically opposite each flanged stop272, its end cap 268 is provided with a compression spring 276 mountedwithin a hollow cup-shaped spring retainer 278 aligned with a hole 280in the end cap 268 through which each compression spring 276 engages thestack of washers 274 and urges them inwardly toward the cylinder head258.

One of the washers 274 is provided with an extension arm 282 whichpasses outward through a slot 284 in the end cap 268 and is itselfprovided with a hole 286 to receive the end of an unlocking rod or cable(not shown) which extends to the passenger compartment of the motorvehicle where it can be manipulated by the driver to unlock the washers274 and permit the buffer assembly 288 (FIG. 5) mounted upon the end ofthe piston rod 254 to be retracted by the motor vehicle operatorfollowing an emergency operation of the passenger-restraining device200. A port 290 (FIG. 6) near each rearward cylinder head 258 permitsthe escape of the air from the rearward cylinder chamber 292 whenexplosive gas from the cartridge passes through the ports or passageways230 and 232 into the forward cylinder chamber 294, as explained below inconnection with the operation of the further modifiedpassenger-restraining device 200. The compound piston head 244 isreciprocable within the cylinder bore 296 in the cylinder barrel 214.

In particular, the rearward end of each piston rod 254 is threaded orotherwise secured within a flanged collar 298 (FIG. 6) which in turn iswelded or otherwise secured to a backing plate or supporting plate 300of an upper or main buffer, generally designated 302 (FIG. 5). Eachcylinder head 258 is provided with a hole 304 aligned with a threadedhole 306 in the cylinder barrel 214 for receiving the threaded stem 234of a retrofiring explosive gas generator 308 similar to the explosivegas generator 236, corresponding parts of which are designated with thesame reference numerals. The retro-firing explosive gas generator 308,however, as its name suggests, is fired at a minute interval of timeafter the firing of the explosive gas generator 236, the explosive gasesfrom the former passing directly into the rearward cylinder chamber 292when the piston head 244 nears the end of its operating stroke as itapproaches the retaining ring 264 (FIG. 6), as determined by a limitswitch (not shown) operated by the buffer supporting plate 300 near theend of the stroke of the piston rod 254, as explained below inconnection with the operation of the passenger restraining device 200.

The main or upper buffer 302 is mounted on the supporting plate 300,which forms a part thereof and which has an upper movable plate 310hinged at 312 to the supporting plate 300. A flexible foam plastic orfoam rubber pad 314 is secured to the plates 300 and 310. The upperportion 316 of the pad 314 is connected to the lower portion 318 thereofby a bending portion 320 having wedge-shaped internal gussetcompartments 322 (FIG. 5) therein to facilitate bending. A torsionspring 323 aligned with the hinges 312 urges the upper pad portion 316upward toward its vertical position. Secured to and depending from theupper movable plate 310 is a bracket 324 which carries an upper pivotpin 326 to which is pivotally connected the upper end of the upper arm328 of a collapsible link, generally designated 330. The lower end ofthe upper arm 328 is connected by a laterally offset intermediate pivotpin 332 to the upper end of the lower arm 334, the two arms beinginterconnected by a tension spring 336 secured thereto near their outeredges 338 and 340 respectively so as to provide a toggle action tendingto yieldably hold the arms 328 and 334 in a straight line position, asshown by the dotted lines on the right-hand side of FIG. 5. For thispurpose, the lower end 342 of the upper arm 328 and the upper end 344 ofthe lower arm 334 form stop surfaces engageable with one another in thestraight-line position of the collapsible link 330. The lower end of thelower arm 334 is pivoted as at 346 to bracket 348 (FIG. 5) welded orotherwise secured to a strut 350, the upper end of which is welded orotherwise secured to the supporting plate 300 while the lower end issimilarly secured to the upper portion 352 of an F-shaped frame 354,which in turn is bent at its upper end and also welded or otherwisesecured to the supporting plate 300 immediately below the flanged collar298 (FIG. 5).

The lower ends of the parallel arms 356 and 358 of the F-shaped frame354 are welded or otherwise secured to the upper side of an auxiliaryreciprocatory fluid pressure motor 360 upon the forward cylinder head362 of which is mounted a third or auxiliary explosive gas generator 364similar in construction, operation and mounting to the explosive gasgenerator 308 and similarly connected to an energization circuit for itssolenoid containing a micro-switch which is closed by the inertia switch126 (FIG. 3) an instant before the energization of the explosive gasgenerator 236 so as to propel the piston rod 366 forward to the right inFIG. 5 upon the occurrence of a violent deceleration of the motorvehicle, due either to drastic emergency braking or to an actualcollision.

Mounted on one side of the cylinder 368 of the auxiliary reciprocatoryfluid pressure motor 360 and parallel to the axis thereof is anelongated guide sleeve 370 (FIG. 5) within which is slidably mounted anauxiliary buffer guide rod 372 which is pivotally connected at 374 to anauxiliary buffer 376 forming the lower portion of the buffer assembly288. The auxiliary or lower buffer 376, like the main or upper buffer302, consists of a supporting plate 378 upon which is mounted anauxiliary pad 280 of flexible foam plastic or foam rubber, except thatthe supporting plate 378 is provided with upper and lower portions 382and 384 respectively bent at obtuse angles to one another. An obtuseangle bracket 386 is welded or otherwise secured to the obtuse anglesupporting plate 378 and carries the pivotal connection 374 of theauxiliary piston rod 366 thereto. Pivotally connected as at 388 to theupper end of the angle bracket 386 is the lower arm 390 of a collapsiblelink 392. The upper end of the lower arm 390 is pivotally connected at394 to the upper end of an upper arm 396 while the lower end thereof ispivotally connected at 398 to the rearward cylinder head 400 of theauxiliary cylinder 368.

In the operation of the further modified deceleration-responsivepassenger-restraining device 200, let it be assumed, as before, that thebuffer assembly 288 and its connected parts are in their retractedpositions shown in solid lines in FIG. 5 with the upper portion 316folded into its horizontal retracted position relatively to the lowerportion 318 of the main pad 314 and held in that position by a detentlatch (not shown) extending upward from the motor vehicle cowl intoengagement with a detent lug 402 projecting from the upper end of thebracket 324 (FIG. 5). Let it also be assumed that the explosive gasgenerators 236, 308 and 364 are equipped with "live" cartridges like thecartridge 116 in FIG. 3, and that an emergency has resulted in a violentand sudden deceleration of the motor vehicle, either by drastic brakingor by collision.

As a result, of this violent and sudden deceleration, the inertia switch(not shown) is energized to first actuate the auxiliary explosive gasgenerator 364 and cause explosive gas to enter the cylinder 368 of theauxiliary reciprocatory fluid pressure motor 360, causing its piston rod366 and auxiliary or lower buffer 376 to move rearwardly in advance ofthe main or upper buffer 302, thereby pushing backward onto the frontseat any child who might be inadvisedly standing in front thereof. Aninstant later, brought about by a predetermined time delay, the mainexplosive gas generator 236 is fired, causing explosive gas to enter thecylinder head 220 of each main cylinder 204, thereby propelling thepiston rod 254 thereof and the main buffer 302 with its bent pad 314 tothe right into the dotted line position shown at the right in FIG. 5.The inclined locking rings then lock the piston rods in their positions.

As soon as the lug 402 travels past the detent latch (not shown)projecting upward from the motor vehicle cowl, the upper portion 316 ofthe main buffer 302 is swung into a vertical position shown in thedotted lines at the right-hand end of FIG. 5, urged by the torsionspring 323. This action pulls the upper and lower arms 328 and 334 ofthe collapsible levers 330 into a straight-line position in substantialalignment with one another. Due to the fact, however, that the middlepivot pin 332 is laterally-offset relatively to the line of centers ofthe upper and lower pivot pins 326 and 346, as shown at the right-handend of FIG. 5, the straightening of the collapsible levers 330 causesthe axis of the tension spring 336 to come to rest to the left of thepivot pin 332 with a toggle action which holds the ends 342 and 344 ofthe upper and lower arms 328 and 334 in abutting engagement with oneanother. This toggle action forces the collapsible links 330 to remainin their straight positions from which they can be collapsed only byopposing pressure exerted at their midpoints adjacent the intermediatepivot pins 332 thereof. The gusset openings 322 permit the upper portion316 of the main pad 314 to flex around the bending portion 320therebetween. As a result of the foregoing action, the passengers areheld downward against the seat bottoms 18 and backward against the seatbacks 20 as in FIGS. 1 and 4 and thereby prevented from being thrownforward by the inertia of their bodies, with consequent injury andpossible death.

Meanwhile, as the piston 244 has neared the end of its outward stroke,it has tripped and closed a normally-open limit switch (not shown) whichin turn closed the energization circuit of the solenoid winding withinthe retro-firing explosive gas generator 308, causing it to fire. Theconsequent explosion propels exploded gases into the outer ends of thecylinders 216, halting further travel of the pistons 244. As aconsequence, the travel of the buffer assembly 288 is instantly haltedat a predetermined position after the main buffer 302 has locked by theone-way locking action of the tilted locking rings or washers 274 on thepiston rods 254 (FIG. 6). The passengers P, thus restrained fromhurtling forward in response to the violent deceleration of the motorvehicle, are protected from serious injury while at the same time themain and auxiliary buffers 372 and 376 (FIG. 5) are halted before theirpropulsion proceeds far enough rearwardly to cause injury to thepassengers by their otherwise-unrestrained travel.

Even if the motor vehicle rolls over, the passengers are protected fromserious injury by being held against the back 20 and bottom 18 of thefront seat 16 and thus are protected from injury, assuming, of course,that the body pillars are sufficiently strong to prevent collapse of theroof 24. Such collapse could of course be easily prevented by theinstallation of the well-known inverted-U-shaped roll bar used by racingcar drivers.

After the motor vehicle 12 has come to a halt, either in an upright orrolled-over position, the occupants can free themselves from therestraining action of the buffer assembly 288 by reaching through thesteering wheel cutout opening 77 (FIG. 2) in the buffer 76 (FIGS. 1 and2) or in the facing steering wheel cutouts (not shown) in the mainbuffer 302 and auxiliary buffer 376 then pushing forward upon thecollapsible links 330 (FIG. 5) adjacent their intermediate pivot pins332, thereby permitting the upper portion 316 of the main or upperbuffer 314 to be bent downward. At the same time, a pull on the rod orcable leading to the release arm 282 (FIG. 6) pulls the washers 274 intoa vertical unlocked position by overcoming the thrust of the coilsprings 276 and thereby permits the piston rods 254 and consequently thebuffer assembly 288 to be pushed forward toward the vehicle cowl 30.

MAGAZINE EXPLOSIVE GAS GENERATOR.

The magazine explosive gas generator, generally designated 410, shown inFIG. 7, provides means by which a plurality of cartridges can be movedsuccessively into the firing position. It consists of a cup-shapedcasing 412 mounted on a tubular stem 414 with a threaded lower endportion 416 and a passageway 418 extending longitudinally through thestem 414. The upper portion of the stem 414 is threaded as at 420 toreceive the correspondingly-threaded hollow stem 422 of a plug 424 withan enlarged head 426. The plug 424 has a central bore 428 therethroughfor slidably receiving an elongated firing pin 430 of magnetic materialsuch as soft iron, which is urged downward by a compression coil spring432 disposed in a counterbore 434 in a cylindrical closure member 436.The lower end of the spring 432 bears against an enlargement 438 on thefiring pin 430 immediately above the head 426. Mounted inside the casing412 upon an annular spacer 440 at the bottom thereof is a solenoid 442consisting of a tubular core 444 having annular opposite end discs 446secured to its opposite ends. Mounted in the annular space between thecore 444 and the end discs 446 is a solenoid winding 448.

The cylindrical closure member 436 is reduced in diameter at its upperend to receive an annular cap 450 and is pressed downward by a leafspring 452 similar to the leaf spring 240 in FIG. 5 and similarly weldedor otherwise secured to the casing 412. The closure member 436 isprovided with a central axial bore 454 slidably receiving the firing pin430 and opening into the counterbore 434. The stem 414 intermediate itsupper and lower ends is provided with a diametral slot 456 ofrectangular cross-section in which a cartridge magazine 458 is slidablymounted. The cartridge magazine 458 is provided with a plurality oftransverse bores 460 counterbored to receive the casings of center-firepistol cartridges 462. The cartridge magazine 458 on its upper side 464is provided with a series of hemispherical depressions 466 adapted toregister with the ball 468 of a yieldable spring-pressed ball detent 470in a socket 472 when each of the bores 460 is aligned with thepassageway 418.

In the operation of the magazine explosive gas generator 410, let it beassumed that live blank cartridges 462 have been mounted in theirrespective bores 460 in the magazine 458, which has been temporarilywithdrawn from the slot 456 with the ball detent 470 yielding upwardfrom its engagement with the depressions 466 to permit withdrawal of themagazine 458 for this purpose. The thus loaded magazine 458 is thenpushed back into the slot 456 and comes to rest when the detent ball 468is springpressed into the adjacent depression 466. The threaded lowerend portion 416 of the stem 414 is assumed to have been threaded into acorrespondingly-threaded counterbore 474 which opens into acorrespondingly-threaded bore 476 in the cylinder head 478 in which itis mounted.

When the circuit including the solenoid winding 448 has been closed bythe action of the inertia switch as described above, the consequentmagnetic force exerted upon the firing pin 430 forces its pointed lowerend downward against the center of the first center-fire cartridge 462,detonating it and causing it to fire, whereupon the explosive gases passthrough the passageways 418 and 476 into the cylinder chamber closed bythe cylinder head 478 to propel the piston head thereof in a directionaway from the cylinder head 478 and magazine explosive gas generator 410mounted therein.

After the first cartridge 462 has been fired, the generator 410 can bereactivated by pushing inward to the left in FIG. 7 upon the magazine458, so as to bring the second cartridge 462 into alignment with thepassageway 418 in the stem 414. While this is being done, the ball 468of the spring-pressed detent 470 yields so as to move out of the firstdetent depression 466 and into the second detent depression 466. Thethird detent depression consists of a concave annular bevel 480 upon theend of the magazine 458, which comes into engagement with the ball 468when the magazine 458 is pushed further into the slot 456 to place thethird cartridge 462 in firing position.

The cartridge-applied and cartridge-released brake assembly, generallydesignated 480, shown in FIG. 8 is adapted to be mounted adjacent themain piston rod 254 (FIG. 5) between the retro-firing explosive gasgenerator 308 and the flanged collar 298 for braking the travel of thepiston rod 254. For this purpose the brake assembly 480 is mounted upona suitable bracket structure 482, shown almost entirely broken away andomitted from FIG. 8 in order to avoid concealing the operating parts ofthe brake assembly 480. The bracket structure 482, however, isconveniently secured to the operating cylinder 204 (FIG. 5) adjacent theretro-firing explosive gas generator 308. The brake assembly 480 has astationarily mounted pivot shaft 484 to which are pivoted the bosses 486and 488 of lower and upper semi-cylindrical brake linings 494 and 496respectively. Thus the bosses 486 are axially spaced on opposite sidesof the central boss 488 and all three bosses are centrally bored formounting upon the pivot shaft 484.

Pivotally mounted at 498 upon the end portion of the uppersemi-cylindrical brake element 492 almost diametrically opposite itspivot boss 488 are the inner ends of a twin-armed brake-operating lever500. The brake-operating lever 500 has its arms 502 interconnectedremote from its pivots 498 by a shallow V-shaped bridge portion 504.Extending through and between the arms 500 of the brake-operating lever500 is a link pivot rod 506 to the outer ends of which are pivoted theupper ends of brake-coupling links 508 (only one being shown in FIG. 8),the lower ends of which are pivoted at 510 to the opposite sides of thelower brake element 490 remote from the pivot shaft 484. A verticalcompression coil spring 512 with its upper end engaging an abutment (notshown) engages and urges the bridge portion 504 and consequently thebrake-operating lever 500 in a downward direction. A similar horizontalcompression coil spring 514 similarly has its outer end engaging anabutment (not shown) and its inner end bearing against and urging inwarda swinging plate 516, the upper edge of which engages the underside ofthe bridge portion 504 and the looped lower end of which is pivotallymounted upon a pivot pin 518.

The underside of the bridge portion 504 inward from the plate 516 isengaged by the upper end of the piston rod 520 of a brake-setting fluidpressure reciprocatory motor 522 having a cylinder 523, the lower end ofwhich is provided with a cartridge-actuated explosive gas generator 525similar to the explosive gas generator 100 of FIG. 3. The brake assembly480 is also provided with a reciprocatory fluid pressure brake releasingmotor 524, the piston rod 526 of which is provided at its forward endwith a conical brake-expanding cam 528 which, upon advance or forwardstroke of the piston rod 526, enters the gap 530 between the movableouter ends of the brake halves 490 and 492 and forces them apart,releasing the brake assembly 480. The cylinder 532 of the brakereleasing motor 524 at its rearward end is provided with acartridge-actuated explosive gas generator 534 similar to the explosivegas generator 100 of FIG. 3.

The operation of the cartridge-applied and cartridge-released brakeassembly 480 as a unit in cooperation with the remaining components ofthe deceleration-responsive passenger restraining device of thisinvention is described below in connection with the operation of theamplified deceleration-responsive passenger-restraining device orsystem, generally designated 540, as shown in the flow sheet of FIG. 9.In its internal operation as shown in FIG. 8, the firing of thecartridge in the gas generator (not shown) at the lower end of thecylinder 523 of the brake-setting reciprocatory motor 522 suddenlyinjects into the cylinder 523 a charge of hot high-pressure gas whichforces the piston of the piston rod 520 upward at high speed. Thisaction in response to the striking force of the piston rod 520 againstthe bridge portion 504 of the brake operating lever 500 swings the lever500 upward around the pivot rod 506, pulling the lower brake half 490upward around the pivot shaft 484 through the force-transmitting actionof the links 508 interconnecting the pivots 510 with the rod 506. At thesame time, the consequent downward motion of the pivots 498 at the freeend of the upper brake half 492, in response to the downward swinging ofthe inner end of the brake operating lever 500, swings the upper brakehalf 492 downward around the pivot shaft 484, thereby forcing the brakelinings 494 and 496 into almost instantaneous braking engagement withthe main piston rod 254. This action brings the piston rod 254 and themain buffer 302 to a momentary halt.

Shortly thereafter, in response to the further operation of the deviceas a whole (FIG. 9) as described below, the consequent firing of thecartridge in the explosive gas generator 534 suddenly fills the rearwardend of the cylinder 532 of the brake-releasing motor 524 behind thepiston head of the piston rod 526 thereof. This action almostinstantaneously propels the piston rod 526 and conical brake expandingcam 528 forward into the gap 530 between the movable outer ends of thebrake halves 490 and 492, forcing them apart and consequently releasingthe grip of the brake linings 494 and 496 upon the main piston rod 254.

The amplified deceleration-responsive passenger-restraining device orsystem, generally designated 540, goes into action in response to theoperation of an emergency or crash sensor (FIG. 9), such as theinertia-operated micro-switch 126 (FIG. 3) which emits a signal upon theoccurrence of a crash or upon the drastic deceleration immediately priorto a crash. This signal is transmitted to the gas generator 364 shown inthe lower left-hand corner of FIG. 5, causing the explosion of thecartridge therein to inject explosive gases into the inner end of thecylinder 368 of the auxiliary reciprocatory fluid pressure motor 360behind the piston head of the piston rod 366 thereof. This action causesthe piston rod 366 and the knee-restraint auxiliary buffer 376 to moverapidly outward into the dotted line position shown in FIG. 5, engagingthe knees of the driver and/or front seat passenger, thereby preventingthem from "submarining" or sliding downward and forward in response totheir inertias.

As the knee restraint 376 moves outward, it closes a suitable switch 542which instantly energizes the firing mechanism of the gas generator 236so as to fire the explosive cartridge thereof. The resulting explosivegases are injected into the main cylinder or cylinders 204 of the mainrestraint or buffer 302 which consequently moves outward rapidly intothe dotted line position of FIG. 5. Concurrently with the outward motionof the main restraint or buffer 302, the head restraint 316 moves upwardfrom its solid-line horizontal position in the mid-portion of FIG. 5 toits vertical dotted-line position at the right-hand end of FIG. 5.

As the main restraint or buffer 302 moves outward into imminentengagement with the front seat occupant, a shutter (not shown) thereonintercepts the light beam of a first photoelectric cell device,generally designated 544, actuating a switch, which energizes the gasgenerator 525 and fires the cartridge therein. This action injectsexplosive gases into the lower end of the brake setting cylinder 523below the piston head of the piston rod 520 causing the latter to moverapidly upward. As a result, the brake-operating lever 500 is swungrapidly upward, causing the lower and upper brake halves 490 and 492 tomove toward one another and engage their respective brake linings 494and 496 with the main restraint piston rod 254, halting its outwardtravel. At the same time, a second photoelectric cell device 546connected in parallel with the first photoelectric cell device 544mounted slightly ahead of the outwardly-traveling main buffer 314 andhead restraint 316, actuating an emergency signal 548.

Meanwhile, the impact of the front seat occupant or occupants with themain restraint or barrier 302 actuates with an impact switch 550 whichin turn energizes the brake releasing gas generator 534 by firing thecartridge thereof. As a result, the injection of explosive gases fromthe gas generator 534 into the cylinder 532 of the reciprocatorybrake-releasing motor 524 behind the piston head thereof propels thepiston rod 526 and conical brake-expanding cam 528 into the gap 530between the free ends of the brake halves 490 and 492, forcing themapart as they pivot around the pivot shaft 484. With the brake assembly480 thus unlocked and disengaged from the main piston rod 254, the mainreciprocatory motor 202 thereof acts as a large and controlled shockabsorber, moving inwardly as it absorbs the energy developed by theinertia of the front seat occupant or occupants impacting into the mainbuffer 302.

I claim:
 1. A deceleration-responsive passenger-restraining device forinstallation in a motor vehicle having a passenger compartment with asteering wheel and a passenger seat therein, said devicecomprisingreciprocatory fluid pressure motor means adapted to be mountedon said motor vehicle and including cylinder means and piston meanstherein reciprocable relatively thereto and adapted to extend into thepassenger compartment, buffer means adapted to be disposed in thepassenger compartment and operatively connected to said piston means formotion thereby from a retracted position remote from the seat to apassenger-restraining position adjacent the seat, substantiallyinstantaneously-burning explosive gas generating means having solidpropellant cartridge receiving means adapted to receive such solidpropellant cartridges and communicating with said cylinder means,cartridge-firing means responsive to the attainment of a predetermineddeceleration of the vehicle for firing the cartridge and therebyinjecting exploded gases into said cylinder means for moving said pistonmeans and consequently propelling said buffer means from its retractedposition to its passenger restraining position,said buffer meansincluding a plate structure having a substantially rigid approximatelyvertical intermediate plate portion and also having a substantiallyrigid lower plate portion disposed angularly relatively to saidintermediate portion and extending therebelow toward said cylindermeans, and braking means including a braking member movable into and outof braking engagement with said piston means,said braking means beingdisposed adjacent said piston means and responsive to the travel of saidbuffer means a predetermined distance toward said passenger-restrainingposition for moving said braking member into braking engagement withsaid piston means and halting said piston means.
 2. Adeceleration-responsive passenger-restraining device for installation ina motor vehicle having a passenger compartment with a steering wheel anda passenger seat therein, said device comprisingreciprocatory fluidpressure motor means adapted to be mounted on said motor vehicle andincluding cylinder means and piston means therein reciprocablerelatively thereto and adapted to extend into the passenger compartment,buffer means adapted to be disposed in the passenger compartment andoperatively connected to said piston means for motion thereby from aretracted position remote from the seat to a passenger-restrainingposition adjacent the seat, substantially instantaneously-burningexplosive gas generating means having solid propellant cartridgereceiving means adapted to receive such solid propellant cartridges andcommunicating with said cylinder means, cartridge-firing meansresponsive to the attainment of a predetermined deceleration of thevehicle for firing the cartridge and thereby injecting exploded gasesinto said cylinder means for moving said piston means and consequentlypropelling said buffer means from its retracted position to itspassenger restraining position,said buffer means including a platestructure having a substantially rigid approximately verticalintermediate plate portion and also having a substantially rigid lowerplate portion disposed angularly relatively to said intermediate portionand extending therebelow toward said cylinder means, and braking meansincluding a braking member movable into and out of braking engagementwith said piston means,said braking means being disposed adjacent saidpiston means and responsive to the travel of said buffer means apredetermined distance toward said passenger-restraining position formoving said braking member into braking engagement with said pistonmeans and halting said piston means, said braking means also includingbrake-applying explosive cartridge-firing means and further includingbrake-applying cylinder and piston means in communication therewith andoperatively connected to said braking member for actuating said brakingmember in response to the firing of said brake-applying cartridge-firingmeans.
 3. A deceleration-responsive passenger-restraining device,according to claim 2, wherein said braking means also includesbrake-releasing explosive cartridge-firing means and further includesbrake-releasing cylinder and piston means in communication therewith andoperatively connected to said braking member for releasing said brakingmember in response to the firing of said brake-releasingcartridge-firing means.
 4. A deceleration-responsivepassenger-restraining device for installation in a motor vehicle havinga passenger compartment with a steering wheel and a passenger seattherein, said device comprisingreciprocatory fluid pressure motor meansadapted to be mounted on said motor vehicle and including cylinder meansand piston means therein reciprocable relatively thereto and adapted toextend into the passenger compartment, buffer means adapted to bedisposed in the passenger compartment and operatively connected to saidpiston means for motion thereby from a retracted position remote fromthe seat to a passenger-restraining position adjacent the seat,substantially instantaneously-burning explosive gas generating meanshaving solid propellant cartridge receiving means adapted to receivesuch solid propellant cartridges and communicating with said cylindermeans, cartridge-firing means responsive to the attainment of apredetermined deceleration of the vehicle for firing the cartridge andthereby injecting exploded gases into said cylinder means for movingsaid piston means and consequently propelling said buffer means from itsretracted position to its passenger restraining position,said buffermeans including a plate structure having a substantially rigidapproximately vertical intermediate plate portion and also having asubstantially rigid lower plate portion disposed angularly relatively tosaid intermediate portion and extending therebelow toward said cylindermeans, said plate structure including a substantially rigid upper plateportion disposed above and angularly relatively to said intermediateportion,said upper plate portion being hingedly connected to saidintermediate plate portion, and resilient means interposed between saidupper and intermediate plate portions and urges said upper plate portioninto approximately coplanar relationship with said intermediate plateportion.
 5. A deceleration-responsive passenger-restraining device,according to claim 4, wherein yieldable latch means is connected to saidupper plate portion to releasably hold the same in angled positionrelatively to said intermediate plate portion and is adapted tocooperate with a coacting latch keeper adapted to be mounted on themotor vehicle to release said upper plate portion in response to firingof said explosive gas generating means.
 6. A deceleration-responsivepassenger-restraining device, according to claim 4, wherein collapsibletoggle link means pivotally interconnects said upper and intermediateplate portions, and includes toggle links pivoted to one another atlocations offset relatively to the line of centers of their pivotalconnections to their respective plate portions and also includes stopshoulders disposed adjacent their pivotal connections to one anotherholding said toggle links in their straight line positions against forceapplied thereagainst in a forward direction of vehicle travel.
 7. Adeceleration-responsive passenger-restraining device for installation ina motor vehicle having a passenger compartment with a steering wheel anda passenger seat therein, said device comprisingreciprocatory fluidpressure motor means adapted to be mounted on said motor vehicle andincluding cylinder means and piston means therein reciprocablerelatively thereto and adapted to extend into the passenger compartment,buffer means adapted to be disposed in the passenger compartment andoperatively connected to said piston means for motion thereby from aretracted position remote from the seat to a passenger-restrainingposition adjacent the seat, explosive gas generating means having solidpropellant cartridge receiving means adapted to receive such solidpropellant cartridges and communicating with said cylinder means, andcartridge-firing means responsive to the attainment of a predetermineddeceleration of the vehicle for firing the cartridge and therebyinjecting exploded gases into said cylinder means for moving said pistonmeans and consequently propelling said buffer means from its retractedposition to its passenger restraining position,said explosive gasgenerating means including first and second explosive gas generatorscommunicating with said cylinder means at opposite ends thereof, andsaid cartridge firing means being constructed and arranged to fire saidsecond explosive gas generator in opposition to said first explosive gasgenerator in response to the arrival of said piston means at a locationadjacent the forward limit of its stroke.
 8. A deceleration-responsivepassenger-restraining device for installation in a motor vehicle havinga passenger compartment with a steering wheel and a passenger seattherein, said device comprisingreciprocatory fluid pressure motor meansadapted to be mounted on said motor vehicle and including cylinder meansand piston means therein reciprocable relatively thereto and adapted toextend into the passenger compartment, buffer means adapted to bedisposed in the passenger compartment and operatively connected to saidpiston means for motion thereby from a retracted position remote fromthe seat to a passenger-restraining position adjacent the seat,explosive gas generating means having solid propellant cartridgereceiving means adapted to receive such solid propellant cartridges andcommunicating with said cylinder means, and cartridge-firing meansresponsive to the attainment of a predetermined deceleration of thevehicle for firing the cartridge and thereby injecting exploded gasesinto said cylinder means for moving said piston means and consequentlypropelling said buffer means from its retracted position to itspassenger restraining position,said buffer means including an upperbuffer and a lower buffer disposed adjacent one another, said motormeans including upper and lower reciprocatory fluid pressure motorsoperatively connected to said upper and lower buffers respectively, saidgas-generating means including upper and lower explosive gas generatorsoperatively connected respectively to said upper and lower motors, andsaid cartridge firing means including contrivances constructed andarranged to fire said lower motor slightly in advance of said uppermotor.